


Music in the Night

by Entro_pie



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Clothed Sex, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Grinding, Potential DA4 Spoilers, Sad Ending, Smut, Thedas Nights, Thedas Nights Spoilers, Vaginal Fingering, such smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:35:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25642900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Entro_pie/pseuds/Entro_pie
Summary: ~~After the events of Dragon Age Inquisition but before Tevinter Nights; more specifically 'The Dread Wolf Take You'~~Disguised as an Orlesian bard, the Dread Wolf crosses paths with the Inquisitor once more. Two heartbroken lovers are reunited in a dark, Tevinter tavern amid music and deceit. Honeyed words and sweet caresses. Sharp pangs of regret and bitter betrayals. The wolf and the halla continue their dance of predator and prey.(don't tease me I'm not good at writing elegant smut)
Relationships: Female Lavellan/Solas, Fen'Harel | Solas/Female Lavellan
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	Music in the Night

Beneath the fangs of his newest mask, the Dread Wolf stalked the night yet again. Yet this time, his staff was not his weapon of choice. His slender, pale fingers wrapped around the neck of his rebec, its sharp voice just barely cutting through the warmth and chatter of the Tevinter tavern. Enough to be heard, but not enough to be listened to. Solas knew this particular art like second nature. Beneath his dragon-like mask his lips curled into a rueful smirk, it seemed that despite the thousands of years he spent in dreams, he still knew how to play. The opulent rings on his fingers glinted in the flickering light. His pointed ears, hidden beneath the golden locks of his wig, listened intently to the conversations of the tavern's patrons.

It would be many more hours into the night until his rendezvous with one of his most trusted spies, and so he had decided to familiarize himself with the energy of this place. It had been a long time since he had been among such jovial voices. The memory of a game of Wicked Grace crept into his mind. Watching their bright eyes and smiling faces while hidden in the banisters above. All living in a world so apart from his own, he could not stifle the pang of jealousy in his heart at their companionship. Their tales they told to one another. The sound of _her_ laughter tinkling through the room like bells.

His fingers twitched, a note coming out just a little flat. None noticed the imperfection except for him. He paused, pretending to adjust the catgut of his instrument before collecting himself again, emptying his mind with practiced skill before continuing his tune.

The lull of chatter swept him back again into his role. He played song after song until the wicks of the oil lamps grew short and the once loud din of the customers had petered out into a low thrum. The barkeep now had time to polish his glasses and scrub the beer steins clean. A waitress snored peacefully on a stool near the fireplace. Solas played a tune that had been unheard for centuries as a young _shem_ muttered to his brother about his new litter of pure-bred mabari pups.

When the door creaked open once again, Solas did not hear it, he was too lost in a reverie of a time he alone remembered. It was not until she spoke that he felt the familiar vice wrap around his throat.

"Chasind mead, please."

He knew, without a doubt, that if he looked at her for even a single moment the cracks in his tender heart would start bleeding again. But Solas also knew he was far too weak to resist.

She sat at the bar, the profile of her still just as breathtaking as his memories had sculpted her to be. Her bare face still fresh to him. Without knowing there were eyes upon her, she adjusted the hem of her empty right sleeve, a grimace quirked her lips so quickly he wasn't sure if he had even seen it. But what struck him the most was her gaze, always sharp as a razor, now had a softer edge than before. It was still exact and cutting, but it was now dulled ever so slightly. Solas stared as she raised the glass of amber liquid to her plush lips. She hummed as the sweet flavor swept across her tongue before glancing out the window at the twinkling lights of Minrathous. A heavy sigh wafted from her as she silently searched the towers with her eyes. As if looking for someone out there.

Of all the taverns in Tevinter, Solas had to be in the very same one as the Inquisitor. He was never one to believe in gods, but this was divine punishment at its finest. To be so close to his deepest desire, his _da'len_ , his heart, and to have to be seen unrecognized by her once again. He bit the inside of his cheek, his stomach twisting with an invisible pain, yet his hands remained steady. Still playing the part of the sly Orlesian bard sauntering from tavern to tavern for secrets and coin.

So instead of watching her any longer, Solas stared across the room. The stuffed head of a boar hung over the fireplace. Its face distorted into a depraved grin after death, its curled tusks jaunted from its lips. The boar's smug face taunted him, almost knowingly. He could never get used to the macabre dressings the Tevinter called "decorations". 

"You're quite a long way from Orlais." a voice chimed.

Startled, Solas turned to face her once more. Her lips turned to a small smile when she noted his surprise, her verdant green eyes inspecting his mask with interest. For a panicked moment Solas thought he has been discovered until she took another sip from her drink.

"It's been a very long time since I've seen or heard an Orlesian bard. It's strangely comforting to me" she paused "It reminds me of...simpler times."

"My lady," he breathed, using his carefully practiced accent "It is a pleasure to know my music brings you comfort." He bowed.

The smile on her lips grew at his gesture. Solas felt his heart flutter against his ribs. Just as before, with every time he saw her she grew more and more brilliant, yet this time a hint of sadness tarnished her features in a way he had never seen before. A sweet kind of ache filled him, thinking that she could be missing him just as much as he has missed her. If he could only perfectly capture every part of her in his memory. It would make the shadows of her that he finds in his dreaming in the fade feel less hollow. Under his grey-blue gaze her cheeks had turned a delightfully rosy color, Solas had to muster what little strength he could not to lean down and kiss them. She turned back to her drink and the view of the city.

Solas returned to his music, yet this time he had decided to play a Dalish lullaby, for her. The soft, dulcet tones remarkably had hardly changed since the time of Arlathan. The music of the ancient elves had outlived their empire. From the corner of his eye he saw her brows raise in recognition as she began to hum along with the tune. Any glimmer of happiness, any small light in this dark, stagnant world, would be worth giving to her. If a simple song that reminded her of home was part of that, he would give it to her wrapped in satin lace and trims of gold. And so he did, or at least tried to put these feelings into his work. The last tender note came to an end, and when she turned to him her eyes were dewy with uncried tears.

"How did you know I was Dalish?" She whispered, wiping her cheeks with the heel of her palm. "I don't have my--I don't have any vallaslin."

"Your accent, of course" the bard replied, smoothly "It is a beautiful sounding voice that could only come from the Dales."

She flustered, again, taking a long drink of mead to cover it up. For as strong willed as she was, the Inquisitor was often vulnerable for a few honeyed words spoken in the right tone. A wry grin was partially hidden under Solas' mask. Her long fingers tapped at the table as she pursed her lips in a way that Solas knew well.

"Would you...care to sit with me? I would appreciate the company."

At that, Solas paused, the workings of his mind thrown into a flurry of thoughts. _You cannot do this again. That foolishness is behind you. Your only purpose is to serve the People, not to follow at the heels of this child like an eager young pup. Selfish._ But perhaps the most painful of all came last. _You would only break what is left of her heart._ Yet, like a marionette pulled by invisible strings, his body moved to her side against his will. 

"Do you feel homesick, here in this strange country?" she asked.

"Yes, I often do," Solas replied, with complete honesty "This is very unlike the country I grew up in. These people and their ways are...unnatural to me. I constantly find myself wishing to be among my countrymen again, to share their companionship. This city is stifling and can suffocate you if you're not prepared."

"I think I know what you mean. I used to be a Dalish elf like any other, travelling the forests and dales, weaving baskets from witherstalk, running everywhere barefoot, telling tales by the fire on chilly nights. I never knew how blissfully simple it all was until..." she instinctively gripped at her right sleeve "...until everything changed. In this city there are far too many eyes always watching. The walls are breathing with people everywhere. I'm like a snared halla, watching my captors surround me on all sides."

The contemplated this for a moment, swirling the mead in her glass before glancing back at him "Can I buy you a drink? You played such beautiful music for me, I feel as though I owe you."

The bard shook his head, his eyes alight and playful "The company of a stunning woman such as yourself is reward enough, but I do make a point never to turn down gifts offered by such lovely lips."

A pink blush covered the tips of her ears as she ordered another glass of mead as per his request. Solas yearned to lean down and nip at them, just to hear what sound she would make. The barkeep slid the glass his way and he took a grateful drink, his throat parched from the heat ever present in this land. The night passed on and they continued talking to one another about anything they fancied. It was so easy, so natural, Solas half believed they were back at the rotunda sitting on his desk and gazing at his paintings. Him with his cup of hot Antivan coffee and her with that repulsive embrium tea that she was so fond of. The smell was fragrant and spicy, just like her. It took a very special kind of person to make a cup of boiled grass seem palatable to him. Despite all these comforts Solas kept the gaudy Orlesian accent in his voice, although he wished he could speak to her once again in the tones of their mother tongue. By the third round of drinks, which he had supplied, he had nearly forgotten why he came to the tavern in the first place. It was only a few hours until he met with his informant. When this dream ended and he had to return to his path of destruction and solitude. He fell silent.

"Are you alright, sir? You just turned pale as a ghost." Her brow furrowed with concern.

Solas was so struck with fondness he nearly felt dizzy. Of course she had the heart to console a man she hardly knew. That innate kindness that drew so many of the core members of the Inquisition closer together. The strength of compassion that was so determined to save a monster like him. The monster that was still painfully and entirely in love with her. He knew with sudden harsh clarity that creeping away back into the shadows, leaving her never to return, would be a kindness. She no longer needed the likes of him by her side.

"It is nothing, I assure you" he shook his head "I never expected to meet such a remarkable soul such as yours in this dark place. I am thankful to have found you tonight." With every last scrap of fortitude, he forced himself to stand from his seat and bow to her as a showman would. But as he turned from her he felt a soft hand wrap around his wrist.

"Please. Stay." she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Her touch burned against Solas' wrist but he was powerless to remove it. He could neither turn around nor continue walking. His hand clenched into a fist and he felt her move. At first he wondered if he had frightened her but as he looked back at her she had the palm of his hand pressed to her lips. He could not stop the shiver that coursed through him any more than he could stop the world from turning. In a flash of movement his lips were on hers with a gentle, sweet brush of skin that hardly felt like more than a breath of air. She gasped, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. He was about to pull away when she pressed her body closer, giving him a searing kiss that made his heart stop and everything stand still. But her hand made its way to cup his cheek before tangling in the golden waves of hair he kept carefully tied back, and with a single caress to his ear the spell was broken.

She stepped away from him, wide eyed "You're an elf." she gasped.

Before anyone could see he adjusted the hair of his wig, once again hiding the pointed tip of his ear "I am."

Her brow furrowed "Why...why did you..."

The bard cleared his throat "I'm certain that you know as well as I how humans act around 'knife-ears' such as us, my lady."

Her face softened with somber understanding "Especially among Orlesians, I suppose."

Solas could not look at her, for fear she'd find him out. What he said was a half-truth, hardly anyone would so much as bat an eye at a human bard wandering the streets of Minrathous, but an elf would be met with suspicion at every turn. At best, people would spit at his feet. At worst, they would try and bind him in chains and sell him to some noble with a bloodstone mine in the bitter cold of the Emprise. Not that they would have succeeded. He heard her footsteps approaching him, but he could not brace himself for what came next. The most kind and gentle of touches graced his chin, directing him to look back into her eyes. Their lush green inviting him to explore. Her lips quirked into a smile.

"Come with me, _lethallin_."

Not a soul saw as she dragged Solas by the hand and swiftly went up the tavern stairs, the barkeep had long since ended his shift and the waitress was still snoring by the fire. With surprising strength, she used her arm and body to pin him to the wall of the first room they found. She pressed tender kisses to what was exposed of his neck and he sighed with bliss. She cooed sweet nothings to him in Elven, unaware that he understood every word. How he longed to return them to her, and teach her some new ones. Instead he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the corner of her mouth, her cheeks, her forehead, her chin. Every inch of her face was committed carefully to memory with his lips. She laughed that tinkling laugh of hers and he buried his face in her neck so he could memorize it, too. He never realized just how starved he was of her warmth. How extraordinary it felt to hold her again. Her hand wandered his chest and he groaned. He wanted her, _needed_ her closer. He looked around, panting, until he saw a rickety straw bed in the corner. That would have to do. 

She whimpered with surprise as Solas lifted her and placed her squarely onto the bed. He crawled over her body like a beast stalking its prey, his eyes glowing a subtle silver blue beneath his mask. Her nimble hand slid down his waist and he snarled before capturing her lips once again. This kiss was far different than any they had shared--before or after the battle against the false god. No, before Solas was content giving her small flickers of heat from what burned in his chest. Now the wolf would not be satisfied until she was engulfed and scorching with him. He devoured her, his tongue snaking into her mouth as he tasted everything she had to offer and more. She let out a weak cry which he gladly swallowed whole. Greedily eating up any ounce of her essence and making a glutton of himself. _Mine. Mine. Mine._

When she pulled away to breath her lips were red like ripe cherries and her cheeks flushed. Her soft hair tangled in Solas' fingers. Her emerald eyes clouded with lust. She carefully swept his blonde locks from his face. He flinched before she slowly unveiled his ears. Her fingertips danced across their shapes and he sighed, leaning into her touch. Melting and molding as clay in her hand. 

"Like a puppy." She chuckled.

Solas laughed with her. He felt as though he'd nearly forgotten how. He kissed her palm and each one of her fingers. Her eyes were bright, as bright as they used to be when they first walked together in the fade. The curve of her smile. The gentle waves of her hair that framed her face. He realized he could never tire of looking at her.

"You are so beautiful." he whispered.

She crinkled her nose in disbelief and Solas' brow furrowed. This was a very different reaction than when he had said so before. Could it be because he said this as a stranger in a tavern and not as Solas? But then her gaze fell upon the stump of her right arm. The sleeve was folded and buttoned closed, hiding the skin beneath. The arm he had taken from her. His heart sank.

" _Every_ part of you" Solas' hands reached for her sleeve and he studied her face in case he was making a wrong move. She didn't stop him, but he saw the hesitancy in her eyes. He carefully unbuttoned her sleeve, revealing what was left of her arm. A long, pale, uneven scar was left where her elbow used to be. He pressed his lips to it, trying to convey a silent apology. "Every single part of you is beautiful, my lady."

To his shock, a single fat tear rolled down her cheek. He brushed it away with his thumb. "Th-thank you" she murmured, rubbing her eyes before smiling mischievously. "But you know, you haven't actually _seen_ every part of me yet."

"Well then, that is something I hope to remedy tonight" he purred, nipping lightly at her jaw as she turned scarlet from her neck up "That is, if you'll have me." he whispered hotly in her ear. 

" _Please_." She gasped.

Solas' hands began to wander her body in earnest. Groping at her soft curves and mapping out every place that made her whimper. He squeezed the soft, tender undersides of her breasts and firmness of her thighs. He wanted to taste every inch of her delicious skin, but instead he bit his lower lip. Patience. They were both still fully clothed, yet he could already feel her wetness as she rubbed her core against his thigh. He pulled her so her back was against his chest, sat on his lap so she could feel his growing bulge pulsing against her ass. He pressed his face into her hair and deeply inhaled her scent as his hand started to undo the laces of her leggings. Once his work was complete, he removed the rings from his fingers before pressing them to her lips.

"Suck" he commanded, his voice vibrating through his chest and into her body.

Her plush lips wrapped around two of Solas' slender fingers and she moaned, bucking her hips and making his voice rumble in satisfaction. He held tightly onto her hip with his other hand and began rolling his hips up into her, grinding his hot, heavy erection against her body. She sobbed around his fingers, licking and caressing them with her tongue. He could feel her saliva dripping from his wrist. He hushed her gently before slipping his fingers out of her mouth and sliding them under her smalls. One of his slick fingers brushed her throbbing clit and she arched her back and keened for him, her hand reaching to grip at his wrist. He ran slow, torturous circles around her clit as her body writhed against him. She kissed frantically at his jaw and he grinned at her with a hungry look in his heavily lidded eyes. Soon he plunged a finger into her velvety heat and shivered with delight as he felt her walls clench around it. She was soaking his hand with her arousal.

"You feel heavenly...I want to bury myself so deep inside you that I become a part of you" He nibbled at her ear before giving her another of his fingers and she cried for him. Even with just the two, it was becoming a tight fit. "Your body is pulling me in, so welcoming to me. Tell me, what do you desire?" He paused his ministrations, lapping up the sweat at her brow. Yet she was stubborn, clearly embarrassed by how easily he had made her fall to pieces. She tried to move her hips but his strength made it so she couldn't shift a millimeter. She even tried to press at his hand to get him deeper inside her, but to no avail. His slender frame belied the power he had. "I am waiting." he hummed, his tone dangerous.

"I want...I want... _fenedhis!_ " she whined. Solas' grin turned wolfish. Oh yes, he could give that to her too, if she wanted. She took a deep breath. "Please touch me...I want you to touch me so badly it aches. I'm so empty without you. I need it!" Her grip in his wrist grew tighter, she left angry red crescents on his skin with her fingernails. Solas slowly moved his hand out of her grasp. She watched as he lifted his hand to his lips and then sucked and licked them clean of her juices. Her eyes followed his tongue as he licked his lips and made a low sound of approval at her taste.

"Who am I to deny someone so exquisite?" Solas' lithe hand wasted no time slithering back under her smalls. His fingers plunged inside her again, scissoring and stretching her further. Her head fell back against his shoulder as his palm rubbed against her clit. Her wanton moans only grew louder as he curled his clever fingers, searching for the spot that would make her scream. If only there were more time, he would bring her to her peak over and over again just to hear those pretty sounds. He'd press his tongue into her core and delight as she squeezed his head with her silky thighs. He'd make love with her until she was his and his alone. Until he could steal her away from this monotone world and keep her forever. Far more quickly than he could have anticipated, Solas was also reaching his climax. He could feel his cock weeping for release in his tight pants. It was then that his fingers pressed into a spot inside her that made her go rigid in his grasp. Her hand was now pulling at his shirt, nearly tearing it as she murmured garbled praise in both Elven and common languages. With just a few more tender strokes she shrieked as her legs quivered and her body flailed. But Solas' fingers continued to press and curl and twist until she was sobbing. To his shock she turned her head and bit at his neck hard enough to draw blood and his vision filled with white.

" _Vhen_ \--!"

Solas buried his face into her shoulder and let out an almost pained, guttural growl. The wet, sticky heat of his release coated her ass and soaked into her smalls. Their chests rose and fell as they panted together. Solas felt utterly dazed with pleasure, pressing his lips to her neck and keeping them there just to feel her pulse grow more steady. He pulled her flush to his body, uncaring of the mess they had made. They sat like that for several long minutes. The wolf and his precious halla. His cloudy grey eyes watched as her hand rose from his shirt to stroke at his jaw. Her gentle touch further pulled him into a lull of safety and contentedness.

Until she gripped at his mask and ripped it off his face.

With a start Solas stood and she fell off of his lap and onto the floor, clutching the mask in her hand. She sat, motionless, on her hand and knees staring at it until she started laughing. Solas was frozen on the spot at its cruel, eerie sound. He had never heard anyone, let alone the inquisitor, make such a harrowing sound. She fell further into her fit of laughter until she was gasping and choking. Her head turned and her sharp green eyes pierced into the heart of him. Tears dripped from her cheeks and onto the floorboards.

"I knew it." came her voice in a loud whisper. "I don't know how or why, but I somehow knew it deep inside." On shaking legs she stood. She stalked over to Solas until they were inches apart. He flinched, expecting her to slap him, but what she did was much, much worse. "You...you two faced deceiving...you actually made me think you cared about me. You made me feel like I was worth something, that what I was doing was worth something. But then you _lied_ to me. You _left_ me. I was nothing more than a pawn in your twisted game. A pretty little prize to be thrown away when you had gotten what you wanted. But all of that...none of that was the worst thing...the worst thing..." She buried her face in her hands.

"The worst thing is that I still love you, Solas."

Solas' hands shook at his sides as he grew cold.

" _Vehnan_...I am sorry."

With those few words, he left her once again.

And so the wolf returned to the shadows to lick his wounds, his traitorous heart heavier than it had ever been before.


End file.
